Comments on: Why is Google Launching an Operating System?

By: What Is an Operating System? The REAL Guide to Chrome OS for Dummies. « The SiliconANGLE

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:31:28 +0000

[...] Why is Google Launching an Operating System? [...]

By: Ethan Bauley

Ethan Bauley — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:35:17 +0000

Cool…it's not gnawing at me or anything but it seems like there is a
difference in approach that's substantial

Thanks again for a great piece…the olpc ref is a great frame

By: Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins

Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:03:40 +0000

I'll take a look at that tonight or tomorrow and try to assemble some thoughts on that. I'll probably bring it up on the CobWEBs podcast tonight (http://friendfeed.com/cobwebs-podcast) and see what Steven thinks.

By: wattersj

wattersj — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:33:43 +0000

The focus on growth is a really important theme to hammer on. So many people get caught up in the old fights vs. the new ones. Well done!

By: Ethan Bauley

Ethan Bauley — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:19:35 +0000

Mark, can you comment on this MSFT Research piece on "browser as OS"?

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/news/featur...

It certainly doesn't have the urgency of the GOOG post...

By: Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins

Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:43:40 +0000

That post is full of great quotes. I like: “Chrome lets Google play a market creation game. The game Chrome lets Google play isn't about winning market share. It's not about dominance “over” Microsoft. Rather, Google is using Chrome to alter the basis of competition entirely.”

By: Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins

Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:38:40 +0000

It wouldn't be bad, but I don't think it really enters into it. As much as Microsoft may envy Google, Google isn't hurt much by Microsoft's existence. Apps is a tiny player in the productivity software market, and there are a ton of dominoes they need to knock down before they get to Microsoft, I think.

Put another way - the usership numbers of Writely, as a product, was pretty impressive. When it became Google Docs, the bar got set a lot higher.

Going after people who don't use productivity tools yet, and getting them hooked on Apps is a far more fruitful strategy than going after ones completely entrenched in the MS world.

By: Ethan Bauley

Ethan Bauley — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:33:14 +0000

Brilliant piece. Near as I can figure, strategy in the networked world is all about investing in complements. So happy someone spelled this out.

Umair Haque's 9/2008 piece on Chrome is worth a read, too:

"Chrome is a shared resource that ensures the sustainable growth of a larger ecosystem"

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/haque/2008/09/...

By: Nate

Nate — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:28:48 +0000

It was very interesting timing with the news last night, this write from MS Research surfaced through a ZDNet story:

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/news/featur...

More internet usage is exactlly what they want, on devices that have the default search, email and calendar as theirs. It also wont be too bad if they cut out some units shipped of Office, Windows, etc and hurt the revenue numbers a bit of their biggest competitor.